Huawei. In India, this is not a brand that many people associate with premium, high-end phones. In fact, not many (still) put Huawei in the same league as Samsung, Apple, or for that matter even Xiaomi. But that is the perception. Actually, Huawei and Honor, which is the company's online-only phone brand, are fairly big. According to IDC, Huawei is actually the third-biggest smartphone maker in the world, only behind Apple and Samsung. It is bigger than Lenovo, a company that is creating a lot of buzz in India right now. Or for that matter any other phone company, including the big ones like LG and Sony. It has a global market share of 9.4 per cent.

But the big numbers constitute only one part of the story. Phones, and the kind of phones that can be meaningfully different from others in the market, are equally important for a company. And that is where the Honor 8 comes into the picture. Of late, Huawei is trying to be not just a company that can churn out volumes of phones that looks similar to each other, and to everything else in the market. Instead, it wants to be associated with phones that are different, in a good way. So it has built some cool phones in the last one year. The Nexus 6P, for example is a phone built by Huawei. Then there is the P9, a phone with dual-camera setup.

The Honor 8 follows in to the footsteps of the P9. However, whereas the P9 was a kind of high-end phone aimed at showing Huawei's expertise in dual-camera setups in the phones, along with its association with a brand like Leica, the Honor 8 has more modest ambitions: It wants to give a taste of the company's unique dual-camera setup to a more wider base of consumers by bringing the technology to a relatively more affordable phone.

I will take a better look at the Honor 8 in the coming days but for now, after using a device briefly, I do have some thoughts to share. For now the price of the phone in India is not known - it will be revealed on October 12 - so it is difficult to say what sort of value the Honor 8 represents for buyers. But as a phone, it seems fairly good, even if it is not anything that can be termed ground-breaking (unless the price is spectacularly low).

A familiar design

One look at the Honor 8 and you will see a phone that looks fairly premium and yet very familiar. This is because the design is a sort of cross between the Samsung Galaxy phones and the iPhone 6. But then this is also a design that works well so from consumer's point of view, there is not much here to complain. The phone has a metal frame, curved glass on the back and front, and fairly regular metal buttons. But the finishing is top notch and gives out the impression that it is a high-end phone. The compact size (5.2-inch screen) of the phone, fairly slim profile and rounded edges also mean that this is a phone that is easy to carry and easy to use.

Just like other recent Huawei phones, the Honor 8 too has a fingerprint scanner on the back. The screen of the Honor 8 looks like a mixed bag. With FullHD resolution it is sharp enough and it shows brialliant colours. But during outdoor use, I felt the brightness was on the lower side. If you are in shade or indoors, the legibility and brightness is fine enough.

On the back, the phone also has two cameras, complete with dual-tone flash. I will have more to say about the cameras in the full review but for I can tell you this is a competent camera. Although it doesn't seem to be as good as what you get in a phone like the Huawei Nexus 6P or the Galaxy S7, in its class this could very well be the best camera. As for why do I have this impression, check out some the image samples that have been posted in this piece.

The Honor 8 camera is, with some luck and if you have quick hands, capable of clicking fast moving subjects like pets in good light. This running dog is an example.

In good light the Honor 8 camera captures fantastic colours.

Another example of colours that Honor 8 can capture.

The Honor 8 camera deals with highlights and shadows well. This photo, for example, was shot with almost half of the sun inside the frame.

The camera is the big trick for the Honor 8. But the rest of the phone seems to fairly up to the task. It's software is similar to what other Chinese phone makers are putting in their phones. In other words, there is no app drawer although the phone uses Android under its customised user interface. In fact, the software in the Honor 8, at least in terms of users interface, looks very similar to what Apple uses in the iPhone. It's kind of freaking actually because the design, which too is similar, and the software give the Honor 8 a very iPhone-like vibe. Depending on your taste, you will either love it or hate it.

Although, you may also have the option to ignore it because the software, even if it has a user interface drastically different from that of Android, doesn't get in your way. It is fast enough, have smooth animations and the have all the necessary features that you expect in a smartphone in 2016.

All depends on the price

The Honor 8 seems like a fairly good phone. But this good is conditional on several things. One, I am yet to properly test the phone. This will take time. The performance, the battery life, how the camera behaves, does the phone heat up, does it work with the Jio 4G services? all of this I will talk about in the full review. Then, there is the price. Huawei is yet to reveal the Honor 8 price. Everything depends on the price and the kind of challengers the Honor 8 will face.

But that said, on first impressions, the Honor 8 is a likable phone. Globally the phone has got good reviews and my impression is that if Huawei prices it right in India, this could be a winner for them.

Disclaimer: The writer attended the Honor 8 preview event in Goa ahead of the phone's launch. His travel and lodging arrangements were arranged by Huawei.

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